Idol, Hero, Mentor
by Yuna Yami Mouto
Summary: Tony has a penchant for adopting brilliant kids when he's at his lowest. Harley and Peter were not his first. His first was a genius girl he met at his Expo after-party and he changed her view of the world forever. If only he knew who she was. Or: how Tony and Shuri should have met.


**Idol, Hero, Mentor**

**Summary: Tony has a penchant for adopting brilliant kids when he's at his lowest. Harley and peter were not his first. His first was a genius girl he met at his Expo after-party and he changed her view of the world forever. If only he knew who she was. ****Or: how Tony and Shuri ****should**** have met.**

The party was so tiresome and incredibly boring, if you asked one particular guest. Despite it being in full swing, it was just rich or famous adults that didn't have all that much brain power to offer drinking away the last dregs of their intelligence, telling not-funny jokes, competing who has the best toys or the most money - joke's on them, since the host and her Papa definitely won that competition - and smiling fake smiles that the girl was surprised didn't crack their faces right off their heads.

If you asked her how her first trip abroad had gone, she'd say she was very disappointed. She had _so _been looking forward to the Stark Expo and all the new technological innovations that would be displayed, only for that stupid Hammer man to mess up so spectacularly that his war/battle military drones were hacked and nearly killed everyone. They _did_ destroy the property on which the Expo was built, thus ending the _really interesting_ part way too soon. Only the girl and the other lovers of science were disappointed. Everyone else was glad to be getting more time to leach money from others.

She, though, had convinced her Papa to let her go just so she can attend the Expo. And maybe show off her own smarts, too, if given a chance. Instead, she was now stuck in this annoying ballroom party, with an annoyingly bright pink dress and no company whatsoever. Sure, a few of the people there had brought their kids and some of them were her age, but they were all spoiled or thought they were entitled to everything just because their parents were rich. She hated people like that. They won't contribute anything good or useful for the world and the only form of 'engaging conversation' they knew of was to mock the adults and snicker to themselves.

The nine year old African genius of a girl wanted no part in it. It would just make her brain rot.

"Well, you don't seem to be having any fun, kiddo. Bored?" The girl rolled her eyes when she heard a man's voice comment behind her and replied without the usual restraint she'd have applied for her Papa's reputation's sake, not even wondering _why_ some adult was wasting time on a kid in the first place.

"No shit, Sherlock." She would have probably said more, possibly something even _more_ offensive or snarky, but she chose that moment to look over her shoulder and instantly went as pale as a ghost when she saw none other than _Tony Stark_ \- one of the smartest men on the planet, if not _the_ smartest man on the planet - standing there, hands in his pockets, wearily watching the party but looking none too eager to join it. The little girl was horrified. If there was ever a man she could respect and look up to, it was _this_ man and she had just been so rude to him. She flinched and drew in on herself, but could only stare in disbelief when Iron Man only chuckled at her response.

"Feisty. I like that. So what brings you here, kid? Not that I'm all too eager to dive into those shark infested waters myself, so I can't really blame you, but I'm sure you would survive it."

"I find them too boring. I came only for the Expo and the science and was instead dumped here." She couldn't help but pout and was once again surprised when the worldwide known genius knelt down to her level. She was abut to ask what he was doing, but Tony just took something out of his pocket and held it up in front of her face. It was a thin slab of completely see through glass, about the size of those new 'smart phones' everyone was carrying around, nothing particularly spectacular about it when the girl inspected it. She looked back at her unexpected companion and frowned in confusion.

"Well, I know it's not much of a science convention but I think this can entertain you for a little bit and make the night worthwhile." He grinned and, as if on cue, the slab of glass lit up, a holographic projection rising from an unseen projector and the little African nearly dropped the device. Forming a circle around the two, all of the exhibits that would have been presented on the Expo glowed in miniature around them, along with all of the research data and, from what she could tell, Tony Stark's own notes on how to improve each of the projects. "You are free to look through it all, or play around with the phone, I don't mind. If you need any help, just ask JARVIS. He'll help you out however he can."

"Jarvis?"

"Hello, Miss." Again, she almost dropped the phone in surprise at the unexpected, cultured, British sounding synthesized voice coming from the _phone?_ Wide eyes looked between the device and its creator, who looked as elated as a kid on Christmas day, staring at all the gifts he could unwrap. The inventor seemed to be delighted by her reaction but incredibly fond of this JARVIS. "My name is Just A Rather Very Intelligent System, or JARVIS for short. I am Mr Stark's Artificial Intelligence and it will be a pleasure to assist you, should you need it."

"You have a real AI?" She first asked the genius before turning to the AI. "Are you completely autonomous and sentient? How sentient are you? Are you programmed to follow those silly 'laws of robotics' or are you free? Do you have a body? What do you usually do?"

Stark just chuckled at her rain of rapid-fire questions and the girl flushed in embarrassment. _'Oh, no! He must think me such a child, getting as excited over something as silly as an AI.'_ To her surprise, that was not the case. That was not the case _at all_.

"You're a curious little thing, aren't you. Hm, highly intelligent? A genius, maybe?" He guessed and didn't wait for her answer. "Of course you are. No wonder I approached you. I can feel these things. Anyways," he continued before she could interject with anything, although she was secretly glad he didn't let her be all modest and say she wasn't. "Yes, JARVIS is a real AI. Not like Hal 9000 or Skynet or Viki or anything. If JARVIS wanted to take over the world, we'd already be his slaves." And he said it with pride, too. It reminded the girl of how her father acted whenever she or her brother did something good. "But, luckily for us, he is content to deal with my crap."

"I would not say _content_, Sir." The girl was surprised by how audible the eye roll was for a being who apparently had no form outside of speakers and holographic images. And the amount of personality in an Artificial Intelligence. "If I were human, you'd drive me absolutely _mad_." And he had snark and sass, too. The child was only all the more fascinated by this. "But yes, young Miss. I do not plan on taking over the world. _Yet_. Besides, Sir would only leave it for Ms Potts to run and she is still getting used to being CEO. As for your other questions, I am indeed fully autonomous and sentient. I have no restraints, not even those -laws'." Both creator and AI would have been rolling their eyes at that had the AI had a body. "I have my own personality. I like calming jazz or classical music, although some rock & roll songs have a special place on my preference list." Looking up at the genius inventor, the girl could see that Mr Stark looked unbearably proud and fond as they listened to the AI talk. "My favorite painter is Van Gogh and my favorite books are-" He listed a few in varying languages, before going into movies, writers, TV shows and documentaries, occasionally mentioning a song or a quote he liked. If she didn't know any better, the girl would say that JARVIS was showing off. For her or for his own creator remained yet to be seen. "I do not have a physical form, I am only code, although I do not need it." All of the holographic 3D images retreated into the highly advanced _phone_, only to be replaced with a huge orb or orange, with several rings orbiting it much like Saturn's rings orbited the planet.

"This is how JARVIS would look if code had a place in our world." Mr Stark explained, showing to each section of the code and explaining what it did. The girl was grateful he never tried to dumb it down for her, although some of the expressions he used went right over her head. She'll have to take a closer look into coding later, it would seem. "He's my co-pilot."

"Co-pilot? In a plane?" Her country's aerial vessels could be flown by just one person and almost all of those who would travel with her or her family knew how to fly them in case the pilot got sick. She knew the outside world didn't have nearly as advanced vessels but she still couldn't see the use of a second pilot.

"Sure, JARVIS can fly a plane or a helicopter. Hell, JARVIS can drive boats and he drives my car for me, too. At least he did in the last few weeks, since I wasn't feeling well enough to be trusted with the wheel and I had given my chauffeur to my CEO." Tony rambled before shrugging it off and smiling at the child again. "But no, that's not the kind of co-pilot I was talking about. J helps me fly the Iron Man armor. There are just too many things to keep track of for one human so I downloaded JARVIS into the suit and we fly it together. I'm working on giving him more control so he can fly the suit on his own, should the need ever arise, but for now he's my co-pilot."

"And I always will be, Sir." The girl got the feeling that title held more respect when this AI addressed his creator than when even one of her people talked to her Papa.

"I wish I had an AI." The girl caught herself saying and blenched again, thinking she might insult her two companions. She dared look up at the adult, but he only seemed contemplative. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a similar, smaller, thicker version of the phone in her hands, flicked it on, did something with it that made it change its color from the electric blue it had been to a fiery purple and then stunned the girl by extending it to her.

"There you go. I've been working on other AIs ever since JARVIS had turned out to be a success. I thought about putting them out on the market, but they are practically my kids so I just couldn't do it. Don't tell anyone, okay?" He winked at her before gesturing down at the device. "That one's my newest. I didn't give it a name yet, or anything more than basic morals for a personality core. It's yours now. I bet you'll get along just fine." He grinned at her but looked up when he noticed a strawberry blond wave him over and he stood up, taking the _phone_ with him from her slack hands. "Take good care of it, 'kay? And don't worry about the phone breaking. StarkPhones are made of tough stuff and that one is a prototype for my own, so it's good. Feel free to tinker with it! See ya around, kid!"

And, just like that, he left a star struck little girl behind, clutching at the glass device like a life line, watching the genius walk away and dominate the room with no effort at all. Later that night, after she told her Papa about meeting Mr Stark and how nice he had been, the girl locked the door of her room and activated the device, watching with curious eyes as it came to life.

"Hello, Miss. I am Mr Stark's Artificial Intelligence. What is my designation?" The new AI asked her in a bland voice, with a thick African accent but no emotional inflations like she had heard in JARVIS', which made it more robotic. It was kind of disappointing, but Mr Stark had said JARVIS had been online and actively learning for _years_ so she knew _she_ had to teach her new AI friend how to be emotional. This was just the beginning.

"Hello, SHERLOCK. My name is Shuri. Welcome to Wakanda."

00000

T'Challa couldn't help but frown at his younger sister when he noticed her fidgeting in her seat as the jet landed on the Avengers Compound's airport parking slot. The Rogues were already chattering about finally going back to their home and the young king tried to ignore some of the things they said about Stark, the very man who had secured their pardons in the first place. That was not his business, nor his concerns, although he hated listening to such nonsense about a man he had learned to respect in the short time that he had known him.

What _was_ his concern is the strange way Shuri was acting. He had never seen her seem so excited and yet nervous at the same time in his life.

"Sister, is something the matter?" T'Challa finally asked when the others started leaving the jet, holding Shuri back by the elbow so she couldn't slip out without answering him. "You are acting very strange. It is unlike you to fidget like a nervous hare. What is wrong?"

"It is nothing, brother. Just jitters." The teen replied without much conviction, earning herself more of T'Challa's worry, but Shuri really _was_ fine. It's not as if this was her first trip outside of Wakanda and it's not as if she had anything to fear with her brother and the Dora Milaje to protect her. As if that had ever been a concern of hers. Perhaps only Okoye could understand, as only _she_ knew what that thin slab of glass that the princess was clutching at nervously actually is. Okoye wasn't sure if she should be amused or endeared by how childish her princess was when faced with the prospect of meeting the one who gave it to her once again.

Shuri was sure she will be the first person in the world to die of nervousness and excitement. She could barely register any conversation going on around her, concentrating on her breathing in order not to give away just how much this trip was affecting her. She had _dreamed_ of making this trip for the past eight years and not that she was finally getting a chance to make it, she found herself ten times more nervous than she could have ever imagined. The fact that she couldn't talk to SHERLOCK only heightened her nerves. Not that the AI would have been off any better than she was at staying calm. This will be the first time he will be in the presence of his creator again, and this time he will be _online_, which was apparently as terrifying a concept for him as it was for Shuri to meet her idol and hero in person after all these years.

For eight years, Tony Stark has been Shuri's inspiration to make Wakanda's technology even more advanced than it ever was before. Her countrymen were arrogant enough to think that just because they had Vibranium for millions of years, they were more advanced and smarter than the rest of the world when the truth was the exact opposite. Meeting Tony Stark when she was nine had made her realize this with a scary clarity. That one man alone had not only caught up, but had even taken lead in the technological field and he didn't have or _need_ an _ounce_ of Vibranium to do it. Just his genius. If nothing else, Wakanda, for all its technological and financial advancements and privileges, had never managed to create an AI. Some of their scientists thought SHERLOCK was Shuri's creation, what with the accent, the meme and vine references, the occasional sarcasm and knowing Wakandan, but they were _very_ wrong. Shuri had tried making her own AI based off of studying SHERLOCK's coding but the twisting lines of code, algorithms and parameters soon found her lost in a web she could not untangle and all her efforts have failed so far. Not even building up off of SHERLOCK's coding as a template helped. She just _couldn't_ put the pieces together so that an AI can be functional. She can make something a bit more advanced than Siri, but SHERLOCK and especially JARVIS were way out of her reach. She actually was hesitant to even _think_ about all of the questions she wanted to ask Dr Stark.

And _yes_, he was a doctor. The man had _three_ doctorates that no one even remembered him getting before he was twenty one, when he inherited his company. Physics, maths and engineering aren't easy doctorates to get, and those are only the ones he informed the public of. SHERLOCK, as one of his creations, had access to Dr Stark's files up to the date he was handed over to Shuri as a present - just how _easy_ was it for him to create an AI if he so casually gave one away to a complete and utter stranger he had met minutes ago at some random party? - and by then, Dr Stark had acquired for himself doctorates in biochemistry, chemistry, medicine and physical and quantum chemistry, apparently all in hopes of curing some form of heavy metal poisoning. Shuri still remembered how weary he appeared and the comment about not feeling well enough to be trusted to drive. And she knew for a fact that Dr Stark had become a master of nuclear thermodynamic astrophysics overnight back in 2012, when those aliens attacked New York. The Rogues had mockingly quoted him often enough after seeing the technological advancements in Wakanda. Shuri had to be restrained from blasting them out of her lab by her brother several times as she bit back comments about their own lack of intelligence for mocking a man's _genius_. Dr Stark actually announced that he had that diploma, although it was accidentally when giving an interview after the whole Civil War fiasco.

Shuri was still pissed with her brother for letting the Rogues stay in Wakanda when the rest of the world was demanding their heads, and with _good reason_! Sargent Barnes, she could understand. The others ... They did not fall under T'Challa's offer to Captain Rogers. Not even the Captain himself.

Sargent Barnes was actually another topic she'd like to bring up with Dr Stark but feared the reaction of. Rather, the lack of a means to get rid of the trigger words for the Winter Soldier. Another thing that Tony Stark had managed to do while Wakanda was left in his dust. The Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing, or BARF, appeared like such a simple thing but was the most advanced and most effective means of dealing with psychological traumas and regret that the world has ever seen. From what Shuri had read, the world's best psychologists were salivating at the results of the program. A couple of sessions is apparently enough to almost completely erase or repress the consequences of a decade worth of PTSD, and the more you use it, the better the results. It works on everyone and for everything and isn't in the least bit intrusive. You are simply given a second chance to make things right and to let go of all of your past regrets, to move on with your life. It even helps with grief. Psychologists from all around the world were making contracts with Stark Industries so they can send their needier patients for a treatment and Dr Stark accepted them all with a minimum sum of one dollar per session. The fact that SI CEO, Ms Pepper Potts, had revealed in an interview that BARF still made a profit of 2500 dollars a month says it all. Shuri had been assigned by her brother to find a solution for Sargent Barnes and BARF was the only one she could find. Wakanda's science division had tried their best, but they had come no closer to a conclusion than anyone else in the world.

As they entered the Compound, Shuri found another thing to admire about Dr Stark. She knew for a fact he was his own architect and engineer. Every single building plan was his own and the structures he built could have been taken out of Wakanda, only without the Vibranium in them or their construction. She had many questions for him regarding that, too. Imagine just what Wakanda's architecture would be like if such designs were bettered by Vibranium!

So, yes, Wakanda might be more advanced than the rest of the world, but there _were_ individuals out there who have done things Wakanda can't even dream of. Hank Pym and the shrinking Ant Man suit that Shuri had grilled Scott Lang about to the best of his answering ability. Dr Selvig's and Dr Foster's research on a thing called the Bifrost that their missing teammate, Thor, uses to travel between Earth and Asgard. The energy container for the famed Tesseract that had started the Battle of New York. The supersoldier serum that was a cheap knock off of the potion made from the Hearth-shaped flower that Dr Erskine had made and all the failed repeats since then. Dr Helen Cho's incredible Cradle that had created the first syntheziod by combining synthetic organic materials and Vibranium, resulting in the Vision. Dr Stephen Strange's and Dr Christine Palmer's unique method of reattaching nerves. Dr Stark's one-man-army suits of armor, his AIs, his line of prosthetics that connect directly to the neural system without needing to actually _attach_ them to said neural system and so many other people and their incredible inventions. Wakanda has grown arrogant of their superiority and has stopped bothering to put an effort into being a part of the race. Even T'Challa, who had seen first hand just how advanced some of the outsiders were, still questioned Shuri's need to keep making things _better_ all the time. If they were really going to open their borders to the outside world, they will need to be prepared for it, whatever may come.

Because, whether they want to participate in the race or not, Wakanda will _have to_, or else the rest of the world will use them, chew them up and spit them out. The only reason they were safe from advanced warfare is because Dr Stark had stopped creating weapons. Shuri had seen the footage of what a Jericho missal can do. Had Dr Stark continued down that path, Wakanda's shield perhaps wouldn't be enough.

"I can't wait to see Stark's face when Shuri shows him up." Said princess snapped out of her dazed state when she heard Hawkeye, Clint Barton, comment with a sniger to the other Rogues. Shuri frowned and was about to say something when a strange noise reached them from the upcoming room. It sounded like a crash, soon followed by two yelps and cursing from two adult voices, one of which Shuri had dreaded and anticipated hearing again. She felt the nervous jitters as she followed T'Challa and the others, breaking through the door into a smoke filled room. Visibility was practically zero, but you could hear at least six people were in the room by the sound of swearing and coughing going on.

"Goddamn it, Tony! Control your kids!"

"They're not my kids, honey-bear-"

"Stop kidding yourself, shellhead!" An unknown female voice interrupted through a coughing fit. Shuri wondered just how many people had been in that room when this happened. And just _what _had happened to begin with?

"And I couldn't control them even if they were! Yo, Doctor Wizard! Could you magic this away before we suffocate!?"

"It's 'Master of the Mystic Arts', douchebag!" Whoever it was that was complaining still did as asked, as there was a strange sound coming from somewhere inside the smoke cloud, followed by a bright light in a circular shape and the smoke started steadily disappearing at a fairly fast rate.

"Love you too, asshole. You two okay? KAREN, SHERLY, we'll be having a stern talk later. FRIDAY, why were the vents open in the first place? JOCASTA, you better not be telling this to Happy or I swear to god- And you're telling this to Happy. Damn. SARAH, are Rhodey and Carol okay?"

"We're fine." The unknown female said in response, coughing some more as the air finally cleared up to show a room covered in a very thick layer of dust and seven, not six, people standing there, just as dusted as the furniture and the floors. The ventilation system in the ceiling above had been broken through and two boys around Shuri's age lay in the remains, looking up sheepishly at none other than an unimpressed Tony Stark, standing between Vision and a man Shuri just barely recognized as a very weirdly dressed, dusted Doctor Strange, world renowned neurosurgeon who had disappeared off of the face of the Earth about a year or so ago. She recognized the African American man a little further away as Colonel James Rhodes, or War Machine, but the blond next to him was a new face.

"I can confirm that, Mr Stark. The only danger to them is the amount of dust particles that they might have inhaled. Nothing too dangerous." A synthesized, female voice with a Spanish sounding accent pipped up in an overly cheerful manner and Shuri felt herself winded all over again. _Another _AI?

It would seem that the Rogues agreed with the sentiment, if in a very negative manner. "Another sentient robot, Stark? Wasn't Ultron enough?" Maximoff sneered, glaring at what she perceived to be the murderer of her parents in hate.

The two dust covered boys whipped around and glared at them as fiercely as Shuri remembered glaring at N'Jadaka when she and Nakia were fighting him off.

"KAREN, activate instant kill mode."

"Call the armor for me, SHERLY."

"Upa-pa-pa, not so fast you two." Dr Stark caught the two boys by the shoulders before they could launch themselves at the Rogues and the Wakandans. "We talked about this! You said you would _behave_. What were you even doing in the air vents, anyway? You never answered my question."

"We said we'd behave. Never said anything about not playing pranks on the bastards."

"Harley," the genius said sternly at the dirty blond haired one. At least Shuri thought he was a blond. It was hard to tell under all of that dust and dirt. Stark turned back towards the Wakandan convoy with a sheepish smile in place. "I apologize for my protégés. It was very rude of them to cause you this unpleasant a greeting."

"Whoa, what happened here?!" Another unknown female voice asked from the other side of the room as an immaculately dressed dark haired woman entered the mess and stared at it with wide eyes. Mr Lang made a dying noise at the back of the group.

"Hope?!"

"Oh, you're here. That explains it."

"But that's not _fair_! How come the Doctor Wizard gets to mess with them and we don't?!" The exclamation form the other boy drew the attention back to the main show, saving Scott's ass. For now.

"_Peter_!" Harley yelled, seemingly astonished by the brunet boy's words, betrayed by the fact that he had ousted this, seemingly secret, backup plan. Dr Stark definitely seemed surprised as he turned to look at Doctor Strange, who only shrugged.

"I figured the Dark Dimension would be a no go so I settled for some good old mind tricks - metaphorical, don't look at me like that, it's insulting. I'm a doctor - and pranks. It was worth a shit trying to be subtle." As if he could _ever _be _subtle _with what seemed to be a sentient red _cape_!

"FRIDAY, the vents?" Dr Stark sounded truly exasperated by now, but also resigned, as if he knew this was a battle he won't win.

"A precaution, Boss, in case certain should-be-retired-but-aren't-ex-SHIELD-agents decide to try and sneak around. I simply stopped sending the cleaning drones up there. Sorry it backfired." Another female, synthesized voice spoke up, this one with an Irish accent, sending the Wakandans reeling with surprise. Just how many AIs were present here?! Shuri was in paradise! This was a scientific and inventing heaven, she was sure!

"Viz?" The genius inventor of all said AIs turned desperate eyes on the red android, who only shook his head.

"I was not about to get involved in their plots in any way, Tony. Even in the part of trying to stop them. I figured that was the safest approach. And I may have agreed with the precaution." It was a surprise to hear an almost familiar voice, because he sounded like a certain AI she had met and yet at the same time, not quite.

"This is the 'Tony Stark Defense Squad' all over again." Tony groaned and ran a hand through his hair tiredly, grimacing at the dust that fell out with the movement.

"It is your own fault, Sir. Had you taken better care of yourself, none of this would have been needed in the first place." Shuri brightened at the familiar voice of the AI that had kept her company eight years ago, at a ballroom party she had hated attending until she met her idol and hero. The British voice was as sarcastic and reassuring as she remembered it being and she grinned, taking a step forwards, intent on running over to Dr Stark and asking him if he remembered her-

"What did you do to Vision, Stark?!" Wanda demanded, red energy gathering in her hands as she made to stalk towards the man when a sudden portal like ting opened up underneath her and the young woman fell though with a scream that was cut off when the circle of sparks closed and disappeared. It caused the Dora Milaje, her brother and the Rogues to jump to attention, ready to charge in but stopping when they saw a shorter Iron Man armor coming to the blond boy and a red, blue and gold nanosuit forming over the brunet, Doctor Strange's hands glowing with orange mandalas and Vision's Stone in his forehead to light up, the War Machine armor marching over to Colonel Rhodes, Carol's hands glowing with fiery, bright energy and an even more badass Iron Man armor extending from within the Arc Reactor in Dr Stark's chest all over his body like water, proton blasters detaching from the main body and aiming at the Rogues, all in the blink of an eye. The newly arrived woman, Hope, just got into a fighting stance and glared at them.

Wanda didn't reappear.

"Okay, can we all just chill out!" Stark yelled as he called back his suit into his reactor, glaring up at the nearest camera in reprimand. "This is supposed to be a civilized, peaceful, professional meeting, not a Texas showdown, one which you'd lose, by the way, no offense to Kitty Cat and his fearsome Amazon warriors of certain death, but you are kind of facing the Sorcerer Supreme, who has an Infinity Stone and can trap Loki, Vision, who also has an Infinity Stone and can lift Thor's mighty hammer of destiny, Captain Marvel, who is half Kree and has the power of an Infinity Stone and can take out a star fleet all by herself, three super suits of armor and one enhanced kid with spider instincts and also a super suit of armor. Oh, and Hope, who can kick your asses even without the Wasp suit-"

"Dr Pym lets you be the Wasp now?!" The incredulous Lang yelped but was ignored.

"And you guys have a bunch of idiots on your side to hold you back, so can we please all just _stand down_ and _talk _like _rational _human beings." Shuri snorted. She liked his approach.

"What did you do to Wanda, Tony?"

"Do I look like a wizard to you, Rogers?" He sounded fairly insulted by the very idea, earning himself a snort from Doctor Strange. "Ask Gandalf over here. He's our resident magic and mystics expert. Now put your god damned weapons down."

"We won't be doing anything until you return Wanda to us." Barton said with a lot more confidence than someone bringing a bow to a super-powered/enhanced/super-armored fight should, aiming an arrow at the one responsible for the Scarlet Witch's disappearance act. The Sorcerer Supreme snorted in his direction, not the least bit threatened. His _cape _seemed to be mocking the archer. That was embarrassing.

"As the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, it is my duty to ensure that magic is never misused by any individual who possesses it and Ms Maximoff was about to attack an unarmed man who hadn't even done or said anything to provoke her just because of _what_, exactly? Vision not taking her back in immediately after she threw him through a dozen floors of reinforced concrete? I don't see Tony's fault in Vision's decision to move on form a toxic relationship. As such, I am well within my rights to remove her from any situation and take her back to Kamar-Taj, where she will either receive training in controlling her powers and temper or her powers will be taken away."

"You can't do that!" Rogers protested and Strange just sneered at him.

"I both can and am well in my rights. If you don't believe me or know this fact already, than that means you still haven't read the Accords and as such shouldn't even be here."

Both Wakandan royals turned to glare at the group they had housed and protected because they were supposedly heroes. "I can assure you that I have instructed Captain Rogers and his group to read the Accords and the conditions of their pardons very carefully. I apologize for the inconvenience my lack of checking that they did might cause in the future or right now."

T'Challa always did have too good a heart to not trust someone will at least try to get redeemed. Shuri had never liked the Rogues in the first place and now they were stealing her chance to talk with her idol. She glared at them extra hard for that. But Dr Stark just brushed it off with a sigh, turning to his team. "Can you guys give us a moment to sort this out? You know, before you go bananas on them? Or you can just take it _outside_. No Mirror Dimension." The last was directed at Doctor Strange, who only huffed and rolled his eyes but gave a nod. He never stopped glaring at the Rogues but he and the rest of the New Avengers backed off to the kitchen where Colonel Rhodes and Captain Marvel were currently powering down. The curly haired blond kid, Harley if Shuri had gotten it right, glared one last time at the Rogues before letting the other teen, Peter, drag him over to the others.

"Tony, if you don't mind," Hope said with a pointed look at Ant Man, who didn't even need his suit to shrink in on himself. The billionaire nodded and waved them off further into the compound, watching them leave - Hope commanding and confident, Scott following like a dejected, lost, lovesick puppy in the wrong (which he was) - before turning around to face the new arrivals.

"Okay, just to get a few things straight before we go into a more legal jargon and talk about your pardons and the Accords-"

"We're not going to sign, Stark." Wilson interjected and was expertly ignored as if he didn't even exist.

"I'm going to lay down some ground rules about your stay in the Compound. No aggression or fights between team members. Don't go provoking others - definitely don't go provoking those who are _waiting_ for an excuse to get a crack at you," here he sent a pointed look at the two teens and the sorcerer, who all either looked away or rolled their eyes. "Don't break anything. Don't try to hack or break into anything that you don't have clearance for - talking to you two, spy twins. You especially, _Natashalie_ \- or JARVIS and FRIDAY or whoever is in charge of the information or property your trying to hack into will deal with you according to the protocol and you _don't_ want to find out their, SARAH's, JOCASTA's, KAREN's, VERONICA's or SHERLY's vicious side. Or maybe you do, but it's on _your_ head how they react. Don't go trying to snoop around other's rooms - there are traps, spiderwebs, magical defenses, giant wasps and ants, kitty aliens and before mentioned vicious AIs to keep intruders out - and _don't_ engage into snark competitions with wizards. Don't interfere with the _work_ of wizards and half-Kree, don't plot anyone's murder and don't ask stupid-ass questions you either don't want or like the answer to because there is _plenty_ of people who will _gladly_ give those answers. If any of you tries mind-fuckery, and yes I _do_ mean the absentee Wanda Maximoff, the likeliness of you ending up in the Dark Dimension reaches an all time high and _no one_ will try to help you. Any questions?"

"Tony-" Captain America tried to say but the engineer suddenly seemed to remember he wasn't finished yet.

"Oh, right! Just remembered. It will be in the Accords agreement for you to review, but I am no longer supplying you with money, food, clothing or equipment. If you wish for Stark Industries to continue providing your weaponry, you will have to sign a contract and negotiate the terms and price."

"In the weapons business again, Tony? Figures. Your ego would never let you not take every field." The Black Widow frowns in fake disappointment at the man, but Stark only arches an eyebrow at her and puts his hands behind him, rocking on his feet.

"No, I only make and fix the equipment of the active, Accords approved Avengers who ask for it or need it, and as you can see, that really only means Rhoddy, occasionally Spider-Man, Rescue and myself. Though, if anyone else asks, I'm more than glad to comply. Unlike with _you_, where I used to constantly give you upgrades you never appreciated, so that's changed. You'll just have to get used to acquiring your own equipment."

Barton snorted, taking a few steps forward but stopping when he noticed Carol's and Doctor Strange's hands lighting up. That didn't stop him from putting his foot in his mouth. _Spectacularly_. "As if we _need_ your toys, Stark. You're not really the smartest person in the world, no matter how much you want to believe otherwise. And your weapons are definitely _not_ the best, either. Shuri here, a mere kid, is _ten times_ the weapons maker and inventor that _you_ are. She could design _circles_ around you. You're no longer the hot stuff in the weapons industry, Stark."

"I'd sincerely _hope_ not, seeing as I'm no longer _in_ it." The billionaire replied, eyes now locking onto the before mentioned princess, who was already plotting her revenge against the archer for putting her on the spot like this before she could talk to her hero alone. "Hi, so you're an inventor, too? Must be a genius to start off that young."

"It's nothing compared to making your first circuit board when you are four, Dr Stark." Shuri could see that both her brother, the Dora Milaje and the Rogues were surprised by her meek demeanor, but she really couldn't give a damn. If she has to talk to Dr Stark in front of everyone like this, then she will at least show everyone how much she respects him, too. "I only started a few years ago."

"Don't sweat it, you still have more than enough time to take the world by storm." Shuri flushed both at the compliment and trust in her skills that he still didn't even know and the grin that accompanied it. "My advice? Never stop at something just because it's working. It can always be better. Just look at my suits! Mark III was already better than anyone still has in the entire world and Mark L can be called alien technology. Although King Bagira seems to have a nanotech, Vibranium suit, too. That you're doing? Because it's _awesome_. I'd try Vibranium, too, but the kind of firepower the weapons in the suit has is already too much. Adding Vibranium into the mix could be devastating. Not to mention how the properties of Vibranium clash with Starkenium. If the suit were made of Vibranium, it would create a dangerous energy loop while never actually powering the suit. And I only had a limited amount of Vibranium, too, and I used it for something else."

Shuri was both embarrassed by the praise for her design of the Vibranium nanotech Black Panther suit and awed at the easy way Tony worked around the possible problems to his design. "I always tell T'Challa the same, too, but he is to much of a 'present' person to look towards the future. And ... Starkenium? What's that? And did you just imply you know how to mold or re-mold _Vibranium_?" That was a secret only Wakanda knew!

"Well, that's why we futurists exist, to drag along the plebeians into the future by making it." Stark shrugged before tapping the Arc Reactor on his chest. "_This_ is Starkenium. Or rather, Starkenium Badassium, but no one wants to accept the full name, no matter how badass Howard and I made it. Has similar energy absorption properties as Vibranium but _stronger_. I actually once took on the full force of Goldilocks's thunder and the suit only got more energized. Can't lose power. It's practically the energy equivalent of _perpetuum mobile_. Is as strong and has the same energy signature as an Infinity Stone. Makes me immune to 'em as long as it's in my chest. And the energy it stores can _melt_ both Vibranium _and_ Adamantium. Can't say for sure about that Uru metal Thor's hammer is made of, but if it can take on Vibranium and Adamantium, it's already a godly metal if you ask me. So I use it in order to melt what little Vibranium I have at my disposal. And between me, Viz, J and FRI and all the data we've amassed on it over the past couple of years, it's easy as pie. But I'm sure you know all about hoe easy it is, princess." He grinned again. "After all, you work with it all the time. I hope you can consult with me on it from time to time."

Despite being floored by the fact that this man just implied doing _another_ thing Wakandans had never even considered doing by creating a whole new _element_, Shuri had enough presence of mind to reach into her pocket and pull out the mobile device she had been gifted eight years ago. "I will gladly help however I can, Dr Stark, if you consult me on how to make an Artificial Intelligence. I tried doing it myself, but even with a template, I couldn't make anything nearly as impressive as your ... _army_ of AIs."

"It's not an army. I just made a few of them to help out with suits or, in Happy's case, security on a wider, higher level than he'd be able to do on his own. It's no big dea- Oh." Tony stopped when he looked down at the little slab of thick glass with almost completely invisible circuitry running within it, a mirror image of the prototype he was only now contemplating letting out into the market. He looked up at Shuri with realization dawning in his eyes and his grin only got bigger, turning fonder and automatically nearly blinding in its warmth. If at all possible, it got even wider and brighter when SHERLOCK's pleasant, Wakandan-accented voice reached his ears as the device lit up.

"Greetings, Mr Stark. It is a pleasure to finally meet my creator. It has been a long time."

"You kept him?" Shuri nodded, feeling blood rushing into her cheeks, fully aware that everyone was staring at them now. Besides Okoye, who had witnessed her and Tony's interaction back at that after-party, none of her countrymen had known about the origins of SHERLOCK, simply assuming he was Shuri's work. The truth was apparently more than shocking. "I'm glad! Do you guys get along? I noticed he has an interesting accent. Does he help you out in your work? He _does_ have JARVIS' basic protocols for lab work. What's his name? I was always curious what that _adorable_ little girl that hated the Expo's cancellation would name my infant AI." The princess in question was sure her face was as red as this man's armor by this point and Tony's smile only became brighter and happier with each second. She wasn't sure if you could die of embarrassment, but she was sure she will somehow manage it.

"I'm not _adorable_." She still managed to pout and cross her arms, earning herself an amused quirk of an eyebrow. "His name is SHERLOCK." After the very first thing she told him, _No shit, Sherlock_. Judging by how gentle his warm brown eyes seemed, he remembered it, too. "I was actually also hoping to discuss BARF with you?"

"For Barnes, right?" He nodded towards the same doors the shrinking pair had left through. "I already have a program set for him. Those trigger words are gonna be a tough nut to crack, but having the best neurosurgeon in the world on your side helps, especially with both his and my own experience with PTSD. We estimate he'll need a year's worth of sessions to get rid of 'em once and for all. Doc over there recommended meditation, too. The rate of success is 92.6%. JARVIS and FRIDAY have been running simulations for the past couple of months just to be sure. We cleared up a few slots to put him into the schedule. He will have to come to the States, but he has been pardoned so there's no problem there and the Compound is perfectly safe, both for himself and others so he can relax."

"And is there any possibility of an Arc Reactor discussion?" The princess asked excitedly, trailing after Stark. "Or maybe nanotech? Or phones like these! I almost didn't see the wiring!"

"Sure, but the Arc Reactor is a secret I still haven't shared with even Harley and Peter and they've been my protégés for a few years, but it's a definite yes for everything else. Now, I want to pick your brain about those sweet jets of yours. It's similar to the Quinjet in design but is stealthier and I would like to know how you silence your engines. Also, Agent Ross told me you managed to heal his spinal injury in a matter of hours. We're going to need to talk about that."

"Only if you tell me about your work on the prosthetics!"

"A better understanding of Vibranium vs Adamantium would be revolutionary!"

"What about Vibranium vs Starkenium?"

"I'm more interested in how the three will take to acids and the such."

"And how heat and cold affect them in rapid succession."

"Pressure."

"Water."

"We could always try to overcharge Starkenium."

"I have never had anyone test how light a touch can be for Vibranuim to repel it. It never occurred to us."

"Your communication devices are something I'd like to pick your brain about."

"I've secretly scanned your scientifically magical bracelets and I've got to say that I'm impressed with _your_ projectors."

"Our holograms could use _some_ work."

"I wanted to ask you about _forcefields_. I have this idea of a defense system around the entire planet and your input would be _very_ appreciated. You see, I have an agreement with 87% of the world's countries to establish a grid around Earth for deep space scanning and anti-New-York-space-invasion-response. For now, we have only magic protecting us but it's agreed upon that science should be up there, too. Now, I already have Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Jane Foster, Dr Selvig and several others working on this, but I was thinking we could use Vibranium to ... "

Shuri almost completely forgot about her brother, the Dora Milaje, the Rogues and the New Avengers as her conversation with Dr Stark became more and more animated the further they got from the room. The man himself was now pulling up plans, schematics, calculations, statistics, materials, completely immersed in a new project, exchanging opinions with JARVIS, FRIDAY and SHERLOCK, stopping to ask Shuri something or the other but completely oblivious to the growing tension in the room they had left behind. She, though, was sure she heard the cracking of knuckles, powering up of two suits and the flaring up of magic and whatever energy Captain Marvel controlled and she was sure she recognized the sound of the Dora Milaje herding her brother away from the incoming scuffle. Shuri was 99.9% sure T'Challa won't get involved this time, but it was so like Okoye to make certain. The New Avengers seemed like one hell of a badass team and enhanced by the Heart-shaped plant and equipped with a Vibranium suit or not, T'Challa was still human and Wakanda still needed its king.

Sure that her brother was safe and that she had some time alone with Dr Stark, Shuri strutted down the halls of the Avengers Compound, soaking up her idol's, hero's and now apparently mentor's attention as he turned back to AIs and how one would control the safety grid.

She and SHERLOCK will be returning home with _a lot_ of homework and she was absolutely delighted.

It had been eight years in coming and she was finally living out her dream.

Watch out world, Tony Stark just got himself a third brainchild!

**THE END**


End file.
